PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim had a hand in a Universiti Malaya Centre for Democracy and Elections (Umcedel) survey in Kajang which reflected positively on him, claims Kajang by-election candidate Zaid Ibrahim.
Zaid accused Anwar of roping in Umcedel to conduct the survey which found Kajang voters to be in favour of Anwar becoming the new Selangor menteri besar.
When state assemblyperson Lee Chin Cheh (right) resigned from the state seat - thereby forcing the by-election - Zaid said Anwar got Mohammad Redzuan Othman to do a quick survey.
"Redzuan is director of Umcedel. He is also Anwar's friend from the Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim) days," Zaid said in a blog posting today.
"Not surprisingly, the Umcedel survey found the majority of voters in Kajang agreed that the by-election was not a waste of public money.
"The Umcedel survey also found that the majority of Kajang voters agreed that Anwar should be menteri besar of Selangor."
According to the survey, 59 percent of 576 respondents polled said 'yes' when asked if it was reasonable to hold a Kajang by-election to allow Anwar to become menteri besar.
The vacating of his seat to pave way for Anwar's entry into Selangor politics has been dubbed the 'Kajang Move'.
'MB's post not guaranteed'
Zaid called Anwar a politician who had "run his course" and is now settling for menteri besar as Putrajaya was out of reach.
However, Zaid said, Anwar's path to become menteri besar - even if he wins the by-election fixed for March 23 - is not guaranteed.
Zaid opined that current Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim's refusal to resign means Anwar will need to dig up an issue of misconduct to justify his sacking, more so since Abdul Khalid has a clean image.
Furthermore, he said even though DAP may support Anwar (right), PAS has its own candidate for menteri besar in mind should Khalid be removed.
"But even if Anwar were successful in removing Khalid, he would still need the blessings of the sultan. To show that he did indeed have the palace’s support, a front-page picture of him with a member of the Selangor royal household appeared in the Suara Keadilan newspaper on Feb 11.
"Anwar the master politician thought that, with the front-page spread, the people of Selangor would believe his story that he was acceptable to the sultan as candidate for menteri besar. It is probably correct to say that the reverse is true.
"I believe His Royal Highness is incensed with all these political manoeuvrings," Zaid said, referring to a decree issued by the Selangor sultan banning the royal household from participating in the by-election campaign.
"So it’s still a work-in-progress for Anwar to be menteri besar. Anwar of course will not tell the people that the Selangor royal family, which is fairly large, has presented its views to the sultan about who is and isn’t acceptable as menteri besar," he added.
In an immediate response, Redzuan rubbished his alleged links with Anwar.
Zaid accused Anwar of roping in Umcedel to conduct the survey which found Kajang voters to be in favour of Anwar becoming the new Selangor menteri besar.
When state assemblyperson Lee Chin Cheh (right) resigned from the state seat - thereby forcing the by-election - Zaid said Anwar got Mohammad Redzuan Othman to do a quick survey."Redzuan is director of Umcedel. He is also Anwar's friend from the Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim) days," Zaid said in a blog posting today.
"Not surprisingly, the Umcedel survey found the majority of voters in Kajang agreed that the by-election was not a waste of public money.
"The Umcedel survey also found that the majority of Kajang voters agreed that Anwar should be menteri besar of Selangor."
According to the survey, 59 percent of 576 respondents polled said 'yes' when asked if it was reasonable to hold a Kajang by-election to allow Anwar to become menteri besar.
The vacating of his seat to pave way for Anwar's entry into Selangor politics has been dubbed the 'Kajang Move'.
'MB's post not guaranteed'
Zaid called Anwar a politician who had "run his course" and is now settling for menteri besar as Putrajaya was out of reach.
However, Zaid said, Anwar's path to become menteri besar - even if he wins the by-election fixed for March 23 - is not guaranteed.
Zaid opined that current Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim's refusal to resign means Anwar will need to dig up an issue of misconduct to justify his sacking, more so since Abdul Khalid has a clean image.
Furthermore, he said even though DAP may support Anwar (right), PAS has its own candidate for menteri besar in mind should Khalid be removed."But even if Anwar were successful in removing Khalid, he would still need the blessings of the sultan. To show that he did indeed have the palace’s support, a front-page picture of him with a member of the Selangor royal household appeared in the Suara Keadilan newspaper on Feb 11.
"Anwar the master politician thought that, with the front-page spread, the people of Selangor would believe his story that he was acceptable to the sultan as candidate for menteri besar. It is probably correct to say that the reverse is true.
"I believe His Royal Highness is incensed with all these political manoeuvrings," Zaid said, referring to a decree issued by the Selangor sultan banning the royal household from participating in the by-election campaign.
"So it’s still a work-in-progress for Anwar to be menteri besar. Anwar of course will not tell the people that the Selangor royal family, which is fairly large, has presented its views to the sultan about who is and isn’t acceptable as menteri besar," he added.
In an immediate response, Redzuan rubbished his alleged links with Anwar.
"This is old story," Redzuan told Malaysiakini in a text message.
He also poured cold water on Zaid's chances in the by-election.
"I don't wish to waste my time and I won't be (a) fool to say that Zaid will win the by-election," Redzuan said.
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